New Years Eve on the Empire Builder!

[JoanieBlon]

I just booked Chicago to Seattle on the Empire Builder. We leave Chicago on Wednesday, December 30th and arrive in Seattle on Friday, January 1st, so we will ring in the New Year on the train! I'am also hoping that we'll see some snow along the way.

We were assigned Bedroom 0730B. I would have rather had the "C" unit, as I think that the main bench seat in "B" has you facing backwards. It was either that or the "A" unit, which I understand is smaller due to the layout.

Can anyone tell me which car we will be in? The one closest to the dining car ~ one away ~ two away??

We completed a trip from Chicago to Emeryville on the California Zephyr on September 25th and were in Bedroom E in the car closest to the dining car. That actually turned out to be a pretty noisy location, as we were just around the corner from the coffee urn, sink, ice, stairs, etc., and folks would start gathering there EARLY and having long and loud discussions. There was a group of about 35 people from the UK in the bedrooms and they used to stand in the hallway and visit with one another early in the morning ~ no doubt suffering from jet lag! I decided that for this trip, a bit further away from the coffee station was a good plan.

My husband and I had such a GREAT time on our Zephyr trip, that we decided that we want to do all the Amtrak routes in the USA. We were re-routed through southern Wyoming due to rail work, and I was able to obtain a $200 credit for that inconvenience ~ although it turned out we enjoyed the scenery, as we got to see lots of bison and antelope!

We were originally going to celebrate New Years in New Orleans, but decided to celebrate on the train instead! Does Amtrak possibly do a champagne toast or anything special on New Years??

 

[AAARGH!]

I just booked Chicago to Seattle on the Empire Builder. We leave Chicago on Wednesday, December 30th and arrive in Seattle on Friday, January 1st. so we will ring in the New Year on the train! I'am also hoping that we'll see some snow along the way.
We were assigned Bedroom 0730B. I would have rather had the "C" unit, as I think that the main bench seat in "B" has you facing backwards. It was either that or the "A" unit, which I understand is smaller due to the layout.

Can anyone tell me which car we will be in? The one closest to the dining car ~ one away ~ two away??

We completed a trip from Chicago to Emeryville on the California Zephyr on September 25th and were in Bedroom E in the car closest to the dining car. That actually turned out to be a pretty noisy location, as we were just around the corner from the coffee urn, sink, ice, stairs, etc., and folks would start gathering there EARLY and having long and loud discussions. There was a group of about 35 people from the UK in the bedrooms and they used to stand in the hallway and visit with one another early in the morning ~ no doubt suffering from jet lag! I decided that for this trip, a bit further away from the coffee station was a good plan.

My husband and I had such a GREAT time on our Zephyr trip, that we decided that we want to do all the Amtrak routes in the USA. We were re-routed through southern Wyoming due to rail work, and I was able to obtain a $200 credit for that inconvenience ~ although it turned out we enjoyed the scenery, as we got to see lots of bison and antelope!

We were originally going to celebrate New Year's in New Orleans, but decided to celebrate on the train instead! Does Amtrak possibly do a champagne toast or anything special on New Years??

730 should be the closest to the dining car.

Also, it is possible they will build the train such that the sleeper car is backwards to what you have on the CZ, so the bench might be facing forward. It's a 50/50 thing.

 

[the_traveler]

As mentioned, the cars can be set either way, so you never know! They can be set different directions on the same train too!

Case in point: I took #8 last year, and of the 3 sleepers, 2 had bedrooms first and 1 had roomettes first. So on some cars, Bedrooms A, C & E were "going forward" and some had Bedrooms B & D "going forward"! I would just leave it as it is. You just may find that "B" is "going forward" but you switched to "C" and are now "going backwards"! Besides there is another seat by the window "going the other direction"!

When you go to the Sightseer or Dining Car, you may in fact find yourself seated "going backwards" or even "going sidewards"!

 

[Dovecote]

Does Amtrak possibly do a champagne toast or anything special on New Years??

The wife and I were on the EB heading east on New Year's Eve this past December. We were suppose to arrive in CHI at 3:55 PM but due to a myriad of problems arrived around 1:00 AM on New Year's Day. Individual California champagne bottles were provided near midnight. We enjoyed watching the fireworks from our room along the route when midnight rolled around. Also enjoyed staying at the Hyatt when Amtrak put us up for the night due to us missing our connecting train.

 

[Shawn]

I was on the EB eastbound on Jan 1 as well, left Seattle on Dec 30...so New Year's for us actually was skipped...as the time change occurred around 1115pm...hehe But they didn't do anything on our train, in fact, I walked back about 15 mins before we were to cross the line and everyone was asleep and no one was in the lounge car...so, I was laying in bed for it!

 

[anir dendroica]

I'll be on your train, riding coach from St. Paul to Portland. I'll be the guy sitting in the sightseer lounge with the scanner and headphones...

Mark

I just booked Chicago to Seattle on the Empire Builder. We leave Chicago on Wednesday, December 30th and arrive in Seattle on Friday, January 1st, so we will ring in the New Year on the train! I'am also hoping that we'll see some snow along the way.
We were assigned Bedroom 0730B. I would have rather had the "C" unit, as I think that the main bench seat in "B" has you facing backwards. It was either that or the "A" unit, which I understand is smaller due to the layout.

Can anyone tell me which car we will be in? The one closest to the dining car ~ one away ~ two away??

We completed a trip from Chicago to Emeryville on the California Zephyr on September 25th and were in Bedroom E in the car closest to the dining car. That actually turned out to be a pretty noisy location, as we were just around the corner from the coffee urn, sink, ice, stairs, etc., and folks would start gathering there EARLY and having long and loud discussions. There was a group of about 35 people from the UK in the bedrooms and they used to stand in the hallway and visit with one another early in the morning ~ no doubt suffering from jet lag! I decided that for this trip, a bit further away from the coffee station was a good plan.

My husband and I had such a GREAT time on our Zephyr trip, that we decided that we want to do all the Amtrak routes in the USA. We were re-routed through southern Wyoming due to rail work, and I was able to obtain a $200 credit for that inconvenience ~ although it turned out we enjoyed the scenery, as we got to see lots of bison and antelope!

We were originally going to celebrate New Years in New Orleans, but decided to celebrate on the train instead! Does Amtrak possibly do a champagne toast or anything special on New Years??

 

[JoanieBlon]

The wife and I were on the EB heading east on New Year's Eve this past December. We were suppose to arrive in CHI at 3:55 PM but due to a myriad of problems arrived around 1:00 AM on New Year's Day. Individual California champagne bottles were provided near midnight. We enjoyed watching the fireworks from our room along the route when midnight rolled around. Also enjoyed staying at the Hyatt when Amtrak put us up for the night due to us missing our connecting train.

I was on the EB eastbound on Jan 1 as well, left Seattle on Dec 30...so New Year's for us actually was skipped...as the time change occurred around 1115pm...hehe But they didn't do anything on our train, in fact, I walked back about 15 mins before we were to cross the line and everyone was asleep and no one was in the lounge car...so, I was laying in bed for it!

I'm assuming that due to the time of year and the area we will be traveling in, it should be chilly to darnright COLD with the possibility of snow ~ maybe LOTS of snow ~ along the route. As my husband and I are from Tampa. that would be a treat! Just out of curiosity.......does falling snow cause any major delays to the time schedule? I would assume that if we were to encounter a major snow fall, that the tracks would need to be cleared.

Dovecote & Shawn ~ did you experience snow during your late December trips on this route? How were the temperatures on the train? I'm wondering about radiational cooling ~ especially at night ~ with the huge amounts of glass. I need to pack appropriately warm clothes ~ but don't want to overpack either, as our entire trip will be just 6 days from start to finish. I'm pretty certain that we'll be needing WARM clothes for December 29th and 30th in Chicago!

 

[JoanieBlon]

I'll be on your train, riding coach from St. Paul to Portland. I'll be the guy sitting in the sightseer lounge with the scanner and headphones...
Mark

We spend quite a bit of time in the sighteeing lounge as well. I am small ~ 5'2" with curly blonde hair and glasses. My husband is 6'3" with straight salt and pepper hair and glasses. We're pretty identifiable as a couple.... :lol: I'll keep a watch out for you. If you see us, come up and say Hi! We are Joan & Mike....

 

[catblue]

My husband and I had such a GREAT time on our Zephyr trip, that we decided that we want to do all the Amtrak routes in the USA. We were re-routed through southern Wyoming due to rail work, and I was able to obtain a $200 credit for that inconvenience ~ although it turned out we enjoyed the scenery, as we got to see lots of bison and antelope!

Interesting! We were also detoured through Wyoming on our California Zephyr trip but Amtrak did not offer us any type of credit for "our inconvenience".

I was very disappointed to miss the Rocky Mountains which was our main reason for taking that train. We had just spent a few days in Yellowstone and The Tetons and had seen hundreds of buffalo and elk up close so seeing more was not a huge bonus for us. On the drive from the Tetons to Salt Lake City to catch the train we saw the scenery in WY. It was not much different on the train. Still I did enjoy the trip.

 

[JoanieBlon]

Interesting! We were also detoured through Wyoming on our California Zephyr trip but Amtrak did not offer us any type of credit for "our inconvenience". I was very disappointed to miss the Rocky Mountains which was our main reason for taking that train. We had just spent a few days in Yellowstone and The Tetons and had seen hundreds of buffalo and elk up close so seeing more was not a huge bonus for us. On the drive from the Tetons to Salt Lake City to catch the train we saw the scenery in WY. It was not much different on the train. Still I did enjoy the trip.

Our credit wasn't "offered" to us either. I made a fuss when Customer Relations called me to advise us of the re-routing. :angry: At least they DID call us....they were a number of people who were on our train who had NO IDEA of the re-route until we arrived in Denver! :huh:

I asked if Amtrak would compensate me in any way due to the fact that I booked this trip so we could see the scenery in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The person whom I spoke with then advised me to call Amtrak Customer Relations after we completed the trip and they "might" be able to offer something. I received the $200 credit on October 7th and it was good for 1 year. We decided to use it right away!

I realize that the re-routing wasn't Amtrak's fault. It was dictated to them by the rail service who owns the tracks there, but it was disappointing and the credit sure did ease some of the sting...and actually, it was a win-win situation. We were happy to get the credit and Amtrak got us a almost immediate repeat customers!

 

[Dovecote]

I'm assuming that due to the time of year and the area we will be traveling in, it should be chilly to darnright COLD with the possibility of snow ~ maybe LOTS of snow ~ along the route. As my husband and I are from Tampa. that would be a treat! Just out of curiosity.......does falling snow cause any major delays to the time schedule? I would assume that if we were to encounter a major snow fall, that the tracks would need to be cleared.
Dovecote & Shawn ~ did you experience snow during your late December trips on this route? How were the temperatures on the train? I'm wondering about radiational cooling ~ especially at night ~ with the huge amounts of glass. I need to pack appropriately warm clothes ~ but don't want to overpack either, as our entire trip will be just 6 days from start to finish. I'm pretty certain that we'll be needing WARM clothes for December 29th and 30th in Chicago!

We departed on the EB in St. Paul on 12/31 and just had 22 inches of snow the prior day. I think the month of December in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area received records amount of snowfall that year. From what I understand the main reason for the delay on route occurred in Montana when the switches froze in some areas. Then again that was the time period when the midwest was receiving frigid temperatures and several trains were being held in Chicago. Frigid temperatures wreck havoc on train equipment. For example on our train some of the toilets froze.

During the night time hours on the train we were comfortable but were wearing street clothes during the entire trip. You should certainly bring warm clothing on the train from my experience on traveling Amtrak in the winter. It is a hit and miss that you will get a room that will satisfy your comfort needs.

 

[Ispolkom]

Dovecote & Shawn ~ did you experience snow during your late December trips on this route? How were the temperatures on the train? I'm wondering about radiational cooling ~ especially at night ~ with the huge amounts of glass. I need to pack appropriately warm clothes ~ but don't want to overpack either, as our entire trip will be just 6 days from start to finish. I'm pretty certain that we'll be needing WARM clothes for December 29th and 30th in Chicago!

I've taken this train in the winter for decades, though usually at Christmas, and usually on the St. Paul-Minot or Chicago-Minot segment. I wouldn't worry about the train being cold, regardless of the temperatures. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the train is colder in the summer, from the over-enthusiastic air conditioning. Remember to pack a sweater or fleece jacket. You'll also probably see lots of snow, though even in Minot I can remember some brown Christmases.

But you never know. Last Christmas we traveled St. Paul-Washington. The trip east was severely delayed by blizzards both in the mountains and in Wisconsin. On the trip west (12/27) the Capitol Limited was an hour late into Chicago because of heavy rain, and the temperature in Chicago reached 60 that day. Better to dress in layers, and remember waterproof shoes or (better) boots.

 

[Phila 30th St]

This sounds like a really fun way to ring in the New Year! It also reminds me I havent' done anything spectacular since I flew from New York to London a few years ago taking off in 2005 and landing in 2006. Maybe it's time I also did something fun like the OP.

 

[Karoly]

We will be on the EB the next day! We are actually coming up from Memphis, and connecting in Chicago for the last leg home (Tac). Have a good time! We are planning on celebrating the New Year whether they have an official toast or not! We're bringing our own Champagne to enjoy, and will toast at midnight PST.

Have a great time, and be sure to post how your journey was.